The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

WAITSBURG - Su Alexander, who took over as manager of the Weller Public Library when Jan Cronkhite retired last fall, has resigned.

Alexander, who had been an assistant to Cronkhite since March 2009, notified the city and the library board late last month that she would leave her position by the end of June.

"It was the right decision for my family," she said. "I really enjoyed getting to know people in Waitsburg through this job. I'll miss the kids a lot."

Although she declined to comment further on her reasons for resigning, Alexander said she liked the work environment and wasn't lured by the prospect of a better job. She has no immediate workrelated plans.

Jim Leid, president of the Weller Library board, said he was surprised by the departure of Alexander, who was much respected for the organization and effort she brought to the position.

"We appreciate the job Su did," Leid said. "It was a personal choice."

Mayor Walt Gobel commented on Alexander's resignation during last week's council meeting, saying she had made a significant contribution to the city's literary institution.

Cronkhite said she was also taken aback and saddened by Alexander's resignation.

" She ' s ve ry good," Cronkhite said. "Everybody was very happy with her."

Cronkhite, who held the library manager's position for 32 years, said the job is much more demanding than the 10 hours for which the employee of the city-owned facility gets paid. Aside from helping patrons selecting and checking out books, managing the library involves organizing reading programs, buying new books and processing their entry into the system, and discarding or selling old books.

"You aren't just looking at books all day," Cronkhite said.

Cronkhite and Alexander had started to introduce a library inventory control program, and even attended a conference for rural libraries in Tennessee to, among other things, learn more about the technology. Unfortunately, the bar car code company that had been selected went out of business after fewer than 3,000 of the 7,000 volumes at the library had been entered into the new system.

The Waitsburg Parade this year featured a "float" to help promote the library's summer reading program. That program will continue despite Alexander's unexpected resignation.

Starting the technology project from scratch and completing it will be an ongoing challenge for Weller and the person who replaces Alexander, Cronkhite said.

Leid said the board, which also consists of Eleanor Montgomery, Becky Huwe, Sarah Reser and Larry Clinton, plans to post the job opening through the city this month and conduct interviews in July.

Current city resources and allocations allow for just 10 hours at $12.45 per hour, while the rest of the manager's time is considered a community service. Volunteers are expected to fill in for Alexander after she steps down this week with the summer reading program and activities continuing as scheduled, Leid said.

For more information about the position or to apply, call Randy Hinchliffe at City Hall 509-337-6371. The job is posted in the Times this week and will close in early July.